Toronto, January 28, 2002

LCL Navigation recently unveiled their web-based electronic documentation system called eBLISS, an acronym for B/L Instructions Submission System. eBLISS offers their clients the ability to input B/L instructions over the Internet and obtain an electronic bill of lading that is also printable on any printer anywhere in the world. They are the first NVOCC in Canada to implement such an interactive B2B, paper-optional electronic documentation system On-Line.

In operation since February 1, 1982, LCL Navigation was the first NVOCC to be established in Canada, when the term 'NVOCC" was then relatively unknown. Created by the U.S. Shipping Act in 1981, the legal entity known as the "non-vessel-operating common carrier" was a term given to cargo consolidating entrepreneurs who filled the niche created by shipping lines when they withdrew from the labour intensive and claims prone carriage of break-bulk or LCL (less-than-container load) cargo. These entrepreneurs acted much like the conventional carriers of pre-containerization days - receiving loose cargo, consolidating them into containers (as opposed to ship's holds) and making them available at the ports of discharge, even delivering to inland points, all-the-while assuming the risks and liability of a common carrier. Although freight forwarder consolidations and their non-liable agent-type 'house bills' were quite common in 1982, LCL Navigation was the first in Canada to operate as a 'non-vessel-operating common carrier', issuing full-fledged 'marine' bills of lading with the full liability of an ocean carrier. As pioneers, they were instrumental in the gradual acceptance of the neutral NVOCC in Canada by bankers, freight forwarders and shippers. LCL Navigation is regarded as the largest Canadian-based NVOCC in terms of their export volume and scope of service. They are the only independent NVOCC to operate their own exclusive CFS facility in Toronto, called LCL Logistics.

Today, LCL Navigation is again leading the way, this time as a pioneer in electronic documentation. Its IT division, Novonet Data Systems, was founded some 13 years ago when the Internet was in its infancy. Tony Young, who was sceptical of the EDI initiative that was then being embraced by the industry, meticulously developed his own in-house information system as a seamless program, integrating all aspects of his operation. By the time the Internet evolved into becoming the medium for e-commerce, Novonet had already perfected their data processing 'engine' that would be necessary to service a web-based B2B application. As a result, their on-line electronic bill of lading is now part and parcel of their in-house legacy system as is their On-Line sailing schedule, Booking Request and Cargo Status Request, which provides such details as actual arrival date, last free storage date, terminal location and connecting carrier details and destination contact information, all available On-Line 7x24.